Character History

Eric Doyle is among the captives held on Level 5 prior to Elle's inadvertent disruption of the Primatech facility's power grid. Eric escapes behind the other villains, and eventually returns to his puppet theater in Costa Verde. When Meredith Gordon mistakenly assumes Claire is going to try and recapture Doyle, Meredith is captured instead and held against her will at the theater. Sandra Bennet and Claire later arrive in an attempt to rescue her but are instead captured by Doyle as well and forced to play a game of Russian Roulette. Though Meredith begs with the love Doyle has sought from her, he nevertheless continues the game, yet is outsmarted by Claire's use of rapid cell regeneration to fake her death and is knocked unconscious. Noah then arrives to take him back into company custody. Back in Level 5, he is held prisoner once more until Sylar's invasion of Primatech, and is released along with the other villains by Noah. Doyle is offered his freedom in exchange for Sylar's life, and Doyle departs and eventually finds Sylar threatening Meredith. Doyle attempts to rescue her and take out Sylar with his ability, but Sylar's own powers prove too much for Doyle to handle. Doyle is left bleeding on the ground, and was apparently left for dead prior to the destruction of Primatech.

However, Doyle later returns, having escaped Primatech. Though no longer pursued by the Company, Doyle is instead now hunted by Danko and his agents as part of the Building 26 operation. He is sent by Rebel to Claire's house in order to seek refuge from the agents, who had burnt down his theater and left him to die. Claire initially refuses to help him, angering Doyle, who snaps but immediately breaks down and expresses regret for who he has become and a desire to change. He leaves without incident, but is later accosted again by agent Rachel Mills. Doyle defends himself and almost forces her to commit suicide, but again expresses his desire to reform. Claire has a change of heart of her own, arriving in time as directed by Rebel to save him from Rachel's partner, Jason. Claire and Doyle later meet in secret at a park, providing Doyle with his new identity for his protection. Claire asks Doyle if he is sincere in his desire to change, to which Doyle responds with a smirk as he walks away. Nevertheless, Doyle is apprehended alive once more and delivered to Danko as a gift, courtesy of Sylar.

When Rachel Mills is outed as an evolved human, she releases Doyle and he escapes with her. Doyle starts a new life as "Jason Tyminski", the identity given to him by Rebel. Doyle struggles with his controlling himself and ends up getting arrested after using his powers. He gets a temp job at Copy Kingdom Headquarters, but has to deal with his new jerk of a boss, Kyle Dilman. Doyle meets Lauren Shapiro, who is dating Kyle. Later, during an argument between Kyle and Lauren, Doyle uses his powers to hurt his boss, which lands him in the hospital. While Kyle is in the hospital, Doyle has a heart-to-heart with Lauren; they admit to wishing they could control their lives better, and make Kyle nicer to both of them. They are interrupted by Kyle, who drags Lauren away, dismissing Doyle; Doyle responds by forcing Kyle to stand still, letting Lauren escape. The next day, Doyle gives Lauren a video message from Kyle, on which Kyle apologizes and promises that she will never see him again. Later that day, Doyle records a video intended for Claire, and releases Kyle from his closet, telling him to leave town and threatening that if Kyle ever mistreats a woman again, he will find him.

As Claire contemplates life at the carnival, Eric sees her and they hug. Claire asks what he is doing at the carnival, to which he replies that normal life didn't work out so well. He explains that Samuel found him and he loves being able to truly be who he is. He tells her to talk to him later.

Whilst sat in his office, Eric recalls all the chances he has had, to start over. He recalls going to the carnival with Lauren, and his "date" with Meredith. He remembers how, at the carnival with Lauren, a game operator tried to cheat them using his ability. Eric and the game operator get into an argument, resulting in Eric using his ability in order to get Lauren a prize. When Samuel comes over, Eric explains what happened and Samuel apologizes to him. The next day Eric practises his ability on Mac, whilst Samuel watches. Samuel invites him to stay. Eric and Joseph talk about abilities, and how they are all good it just depends on who has them. Joseph tells Eric that his ability could be very handy when it comes to Samuel.

Later Eric shows up at Lauren's apartment, and asks her to go back to the carnival with him, but she refuses saying she "doesn't want to be around people like that".

Eric uses his motion manipulating abilities to force Claire out of Samuel's trailer. He asks her what she is doing and Claire tells him that Samuel is evil and is collecting people with abilities. Eric dismisses the accusation and states that the Sullivan Bros. Carnival is a family. He says that she thinks the worst of people and that he is not going to let her screw up everyone's chance at being normal, including his own. He continues to control her but begins to lose power as he allows her to speak. Claire wonders why Eric thinks Samuel is so good and Eric reveals that Samuel showed him what was good about his power and convinced Joseph Sullivan to let him stay. Claire tells Eric that deep down he knows she doesn't want to destroy anyone's home and Eric releases her, suggesting she go and see Lydia as she knows what really happened.

Sylar fights Doyle, throwing him into the table Samuel was drawing on. Samuel tells Doyle to get every one to safety. Once he leaves, Samuel says he could have killed Doyle and Sylar says that he will get to him.

At the carnival, Eric is amongst the group of carnies who gather around Samuel to listen to his speech. When the shots begin firing in the crowd, Doyle flees in terror. When the chaos ends, Doyle, as well as the other carnies, gather round Samuel, who is cradling Lydia's body. Eric becomes furious and turns on Claire. He stops her movements so that Chris Bowman can prepare a fireball. However, Eric stops when Samuel insists that they are better than attacking others. He later greets Emma as she arrives at the carnival and takes her over to Samuel.

Doyle listens to Samuel in Central Park as he tells them that they will change the world and make humans wish to be like them. After Samuel finishes his speech, Eric smiles and applauds along with the other carnies. Later, when Emma refuses to use her ability, Samuel has Eric use his ability to stop her from leaving. Samuel leaves Emma with Doyle, who tells her that he always had a thing for blondes.

At night, Doyle makes Emma play a cello to attract a crowd from New York. When Sylar arrives and tries to save Emma, Doyle stops him and holds him in place. Sylar tells Doyle that he doesn't wish to kill Doyle, but Doyle replies by asking why Sylar is being polite. He asks Emma if she heard him but loses control over her actions when he carelessly releases his hold on her right hand while taunting her. Emma creates a blast and knocks Doyle to the ground making him lose his hold over Sylar who then chokes him. Doyle tells Sylar that Samuel made him force Emma to use her ability, but Sylar sarcastically questions as to whether Doyle was the puppet master. Doyle asks Sylar why he's acting good as he is a villain, but Sylar tells him that he is a hero.

Later, Peter rushes to see what Sylar has done with Doyle and finds Sylar tying him up with lights to two poles.

Eric Doyle was born in Omaha, Nebraska. He was orphaned at five when his parents died in an auto accident and was raised by his uncle, Ned, in San Diego, California. Eric shunned his new home and the Southern California lifestyle in favor of an elaborate imaginary world revolving around a set of crude finger puppets that his birth mother had made for him. Ned, an avid outdoorsman, clashed frequently with his nephew over Eric's desire to "play with dolls."

One day, during one of Ned's frequent attempts to force Eric to enjoy the beach, Ned gave his nephew's ragged finger puppets to his dogs as chew toys. Watching the last keepsakes of his childhood destroyed sent Eric into rage, causing his power to manifest for the first time: Eric forced his uncle to swim away from shore and drown in the Pacific.

Afterward, Eric experimented eagerly with his power while waiting to be arrested for Ned's murder. But the police investigation concluded that Ned had been caught in a riptide while beachcombing. The escape emboldened Eric in the months ahead. Left with his uncle's house and assets, Eric opened a moderately successful marionette theater, entertaining children with intricate shows but clashing constantly with parents and business relations. Behind the theater operations, Eric carried out an increasingly more brutal pastime: the kidnapping and torture of those whom he felt had slighted him.

Eric Doyle met Claire Bennet's birth mother, Meredith Gordon, at an antique flea market, where Meredith was admiring a rare 19th century marionette. In Company interviews, Eric claims he fell in love at first sight and felt that he and Meredith were meant to be together. But despite Meredith's initial politeness and Eric's increasingly desperate attempts -- including abduction and manipulation -- he was unable to make her love him, to his deep frustration. The Company made its initial bag and tag of Eric at this point, and Meredith survived.

The case file also includes a psychological profile:

The subject's traumatic loss of his parents at a formative age, accompanied by the abrupt transition to an unsympathetic environment and caregiver, resulted in persistent feelings of anger and frustration toward society. Psychological interviews reveal classic anti-social tendencies and an aversion to casual human interaction. In substitution, the subject projects a highly developed fantasy instinct onto his perceptions of the world, and any cognitive dissonance encountered as a result is channeled into his repressed frustrations and sense of rejection. Because of this acute disruption in emotional development, the subject possesses many of the psychological characteristics of a pre-pubescent child.

The subject's ability has become the primary outlet for his childhood feelings of loss and powerlessness, leading to a chronic psychological dependency. The subject has also developed a number of accompanying defense mechanisms, such as a radical perception of justice and vengeance that validates virtually any action against any given victim.

In chapter 1 of The Puppet Master, "Jason Tyminski" continues to work at Copy Kingdom Headquarters. He asks for some files from his colleague, Chad, but Chad can't be bothered to hand them to Jason. Jason is then called into the office of Mr. Vervoort, his boss. Vervoort says that due to his recent work habits, Jason should be transferred. Jason gets mad at this and uses his ability to cause Vervoort to grab a pair of scissors and stab himself in the leg. As Vervoort's secretary rushes in, Jason secretly sneaks away.

That night, Jason goes on his second date with Lauren Shapiro. They head to a San Jose restaurant, and Jason has to use his ability to cause the waiter to serve them, since it's such a busy night. The two of them then enjoy their food, and Lauren offers Jason a third date -- at the Sullivan Bros. Carnival, since Lauren realizes Jason's love for puppets.

In chapter 2 of The Puppet Master, Doyle and Lauren arrive at the carnival. They play the ball toss game, but Doyle figures out that the attendant is cheating. He begins to make a scene, but changes his mind because he cannot prove to Lauren that the man is cheating without revealing his own ability. They move on to Lydia's sideshow, where her ability reveals his love for puppets. He figures out that she too has an ability, and decides to leave, but is stopped by Samuel. He learns of Doyle's power, and offers him a tour of the carnival. Leaving Lauren with Lydia, Doyle follows Samuel to the living quarters of the carnival, where he meets Bo LoFontaine. Bo welcomes him to the family, to which Doyle replies he is just taking the tour. Bo explains how they can just be themselves at the carnival, something that appeals to Doyle.

In chapter 3 of The Puppet Master, Doyle and Lauren head back to Doyle's apartment after their date. Lauren has realized that something was bothering Doyle, and asks him about it. When Doyle finally reveals that his name isn't "Jason", but Eric Doyle, Lauren recoils in horror. Doyle then shows Lauren his ability, which truly terrifies Lauren. She flees the apartment. The next day, at work, Marilyn asks Doyle where Lauren is. Doyle says that she hasn't been feeling well. Samuel suddenly appears at the office and offers Doyle a complete tour of the carnival. Samuel explains how they are a family, and how Doyle can be who he really is if he joined them. Doyle thinks that it is indeed time for a change, and says to Samuel that he would be quite happy to join the carnival.

In chapter 4 of The Puppet Master, Doyle calls Samuel from the company parking lot. He drops by the carnival, where he is ready to move in to the "family". Samuel tells him to tie up the lose end that is Lauren Shapiro. Doyle arrives at Lauren's apartment, and they say their goodbyes, with Doyle saying that he'll be in touch. Several weeks later, Doyle finishes his carnival act, and Chris congratulates him on a job well done. Doyle thanks him, and then sees Claire visiting the carnival. Delighted, he heads over to greet her.

According to his assignment tracker file at primatechpaper.com, Eric's control index is 80%. His data analysis shows his biological level at 35, cerebral at 75, elemental at 20, and temporal/spatial at 25.

Notes

According to the casting call for Eric Doyle, the character is between the ages of 30 and 48, and is described as "[h]ideous, horrible and big. A disgusting, villainous man who delights in controlling others."

According to the doctored documentsClaire gives to Doyle, Jason Tyminski lives at 42 Carmichael Way in Milpitas, CA. The license lists him as 5' 9" and 230 pounds, born on December 12, 1968. His Social Security number is 998-8B-2646. (In reality, Social Security numbers never contain letters.)